New Year storms drench Rose Parade, snarl travel
On Jan. 1, 2026, rain poured on Pasadena’s 137th Rose Parade for the first time in 20 years as a broader New Year’s storm system brought flood watches and evacuation warnings to Southern California and snow squalls and frigid temperatures across parts of the Midwest and Northeast. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for all California counties and a coastal flood advisory near San Francisco through Sunday, while an Alberta clipper and Arctic front produced hazardous squalls from Wisconsin to New England and contributed to significant flight delays at San Diego and Boston airports.
📌 Key Facts
- The 137th Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, saw 1–2 inches of rain at about 58°F at its 8 a.m. start on Jan. 1, 2026, the first time in 20 years the event was soaked.
- The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for all California counties and a coastal flood advisory through Sunday afternoon along much of the Pacific Coast near San Francisco.
- An Alberta clipper and trailing Arctic front produced snow squalls and strong winds from Wisconsin and northern Illinois through Michigan, northern New Jersey, southeastern New York and New England, contributing to roughly a quarter of flights being delayed out of San Diego International Airport and Boston Logan.
📊 Relevant Data
Older adults aged 60 and older accounted for 60 percent of the 246 deaths resulting from subzero temperatures during Winter Storm Uri in Texas in 2021, highlighting higher vulnerability in extreme cold weather events.
Exposure to high rainfall during Hurricane Harvey was associated with increased one-year mortality among older adults.
Variation in One‐Year Mortality Following Severe Weather Exposure ... — AGS Journals
Climate change is causing increasing precipitation volatility in twenty-first-century California, with subtle year-to-year jetstream shifts generating disproportionately large precipitation variability.
Increasing precipitation volatility in twenty-first-century California — Santa Barbara Fire Safe Council
In southern California, as little as 7 millimeters of rainfall in 30 minutes has triggered debris flows in post-wildfire areas.
Post-Fire Flooding and Debris Flow — California Water Science Center
With more extreme wildfires and more intense rainfall, there is an increased likelihood of post-fire debris flows in California, particularly larger events.
What's Worse Than a Flood? A Debris Flow — Public Policy Institute of California